Most people are aware of the reputation that the US state of [name_u]Utah[/name_u] is full of bizarre names and spellings, which can be true, but this [name_u]Utah[/name_u] linguistics professor says that [name_u]Utah[/name_u] has also been ahead of trends! Very interesting!
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Here is the 2021 list for the top names in [name_u]Utah[/name_u]. There are some surprising ones like [name_u]Navy[/name_u] being in the Top 50! and [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] being ranked #266, and many others. (Navy was only #452 nationally that year, and [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] has never been nationally ranked). It’ll be interesting to see its Top 100 for 2022.
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I’ve lived in a few different states including [name_u]Utah[/name_u], and I’ve noticed plenty of strange names and bizarre spellings in each of them, none seeming more or less common than the rest. In fact, most Utahns I know have very normal or classic names. But there is still some evidence that [name_u]Utah[/name_u] parents still might be a little more likely to be special with their names. I feel there are definitely names that feel very [name_u]Utah[/name_u] to me, like [name_u]Paisley[/name_u], [name_u]Brayden[/name_u], [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f], [name_u]Blakelee[/name_u], especially because these names aren’t really known in other nearby states who use similar stranger names (like Idaho). It’s funny to me that those names are highly used in [name_u]Utah[/name_u] alongside many of their classy or trailblazing names!
Potential Confounding Variables
Spelling variations can account for the seemingly less popular strange names. For instance, a name like [name_u]Brinley[/name_u] could be split up among [name_u]Brinlee[/name_u], [name_f]Brynlee[/name_f], and [name_u]Brinley[/name_u], which means it would appear less popular because it is split up. This doesn’t account for the trend-setting names though, just that the stranger names may seem lower. I’ll also add that a really unusual name in general isn’t going to pop up on a popularity list, so if there are more people with a “created” name in [name_u]Utah[/name_u], they aren’t going to be represented on these.
Was this surprising for you? Any names popular in [name_u]Utah[/name_u] that were shocking?
Boys names mostly feel very US to me, with [name_u]Atlas[/name_u], [name_m]Nixon[/name_m] and [name_m]Nash[/name_m] being in the top 100 feel
[name_u]Ryker[/name_u], [name_u]Dawson[/name_u] and [name_u]Axel[/name_u] are a bit more unexpected but tbh, I think that’s just a more UK perspective!
For the girls, again, the top ones feel very familiar, but [name_u]Oakley[/name_u], [name_u]Navy[/name_u], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_u]Stevie[/name_u], [name_u]Holland[/name_u] are surprising!!
[name_f]Millie[/name_f], [name_f]Gracie[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] and [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] to a lesser extent (just because nicknamey names are less popular in the US)
[name_u]Utah[/name_u] baby naming is interesting and they have been ahead of many trends (they were naming their little girls [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] long before the rest of the US was). I live in Idaho and we have a high percentage of LDS here as well, so our naming trends (at least where I live) are very similar to [name_u]Utah[/name_u]. [name_m]Dallin[/name_m] is a huge [name_u]Utah[/name_u] inspired boy name, after one of the twelve apostles. [name_u]Holland[/name_u] as a girl name is also the last name of one of the twelve apostles. Other names that were huge in [name_u]Utah[/name_u] before moving along were [name_u]Braxton[/name_u], [name_m]Daxton[/name_m], [name_u]Bridger[/name_u], [name_u]Boston[/name_u] and yes [name_m]Nixon[/name_m], which I don’t understand that one. For girls there were all the [name_f]Makenna[/name_f], [name_u]Mckenzie[/name_u], [name_f]Makayla[/name_f], [name_u]Mckinley[/name_u], Makaylie, Makaydies, etc. that now have turned into the [name_u]Kenzie[/name_u], [name_f]Kinley[/name_f], [name_f]Kinsley[/name_f], [name_f]Kaisley[/name_f], Kynzie, Kaylees etc. Interesting post!
So interesting, thanks for sharing! I was actually thinking about that name and Ashley when I was putting this post together, wondering if it was a Utah name. It makes a lot of sense because it fits a lot of the name styles!
Cool! That’s where I’m from, and I agree that they closely follow Utah names than maybe even Utah itself haha. In the article, Dallin D Oaks (son of the Dallin you mentioned that has inspired use of the name Dallin haha) compares a lot of the names to Colorado. I’m assuming he purposely did not choose Idaho as a comparison because the names are so similar. Braxton was one that was surprisingly common for my age growing up haha. With relatives and their families, I think I know more Idahoans with classic Utah news than Utahns themselves. One family I know has Kinzie, C@yden, Brinlee, and K@mbree, some of which you mentioned! I’ve so noticed a lot of people in Utah and Idaho who are not latter-day saints are still affected by the naming culture. You might see an Ammon or a Dallin, for instance.
And I agree about Nixon. I’ve heard of a few in Utah, and it seems strange. I figure they like the sound of the name and don’t think about the former president haha
Definitely a lot of surprises! [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] is surprising to me because it sounds very [name_f]British[/name_f], but I guess it’s coming over to the states for little girls like how [name_u]Liam[/name_u] did like 10 years ago or so. At least to [name_u]Utah[/name_u]!
I think most of those you picked out are pretty surprising to me as well! I would have never expected [name_u]Navy[/name_u], [name_u]Stevie[/name_u], or [name_u]Holland[/name_u] to be popular or even thought of. Some of the parents are probably bummed that they ended up more popular, since I’m sure they thought they were very unique choices. Nationally, they are still very unique.
and [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] being ranked #266, and many others. (Navy was only #452 nationally that year, and [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] has never been nationally ranked). It’ll be interesting to see its Top 100 for 2022.